The river guardians are employed by a private company, Seawatch, which is contracted by DFO. The number of guardians are few with respect to the huge areas that they have to patrol. The guardians are not patrolling during the crucial times because they are laid off. There are provincial and federal enforcement officers, but they are busy enough.

We the Newfoundland Outdoor Heritage Coalition strongly support the hiring of more guardians for a better distribution of enforcement in different areas. We also strongly support that the duration of their employment season be increased from May to November. This will protect salmon in coastal waters from illegal netting springtime and also protect salmon during spawning, when they are at their most vulnerable time, from illegal netting. 

We met with Liberal MP Ken McDonald November 2019 about this and finally hade a virtual meeting with the NL Liberal MPs earlier this Spring where we once again voiced our concerns. They drafted and sent a letter to DFO Minister Bernadette Jordan. A couple of months later, I received an email from the Minister outlining she feels that the total combined number of enforcement officers, approximately 250, is sufficient and they are doing an adequate job. 

Every salmon angler in NL  should sign this petition. This is the last year of DFO's contract with Seawatch. There's a federal election in September and we need to send a strong message to the DFO Minister.

If ever there was a time for this change, this is it. Please sign this petition and please Share.